美国国务卿克里星期四在基辅与乌克兰总统波罗申科举行会谈。法国和德国领导人也宣布要访问乌克兰，提出新的和平建议。
美国国务院一名高级官员在克里抵达基辅之前宣布美国将向乌克兰再提供价值1640万美元的人道援助，帮助在乌克兰军队和亲俄反政府武装冲突中受害的乌克兰东部平民。
这位官员还说，美国继续评估是否为乌克兰提供“用于防御的杀伤性武器”，但是他表示，有关方面担心乌克兰军队在使用这类上是否接受过充分训练。
这位官员补充说，华盛顿正在与欧洲伙伴国家讨论在近期内对俄罗斯采取更多制裁措施，如果俄罗斯继续在乌克兰的干预。
最近一轮旨在结束九个月叛乱的和谈在上星期破裂后，乌克兰东部暴力升级。
法国总统奥朗德星期四说，他和德国总理默克尔将访问乌克兰，提出“以乌克兰领土完整为基础的新的解决冲突办法”。奥朗德说，他和默克尔星期四将与波罗申科讨论磋商这一计划，然后前往莫斯科与俄罗斯总统普京举行会谈。
目前还不知道和平建议的具体内容。
在布鲁塞尔，北约秘书长斯托尔滕伯格宣布北约星期四加强俄罗斯边界附近的防御，以回应莫斯科在乌克兰的“侵略行动”。
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is in Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, while the leaders of France and Germany announced they are also heading to Ukraine with a new peace proposal.
Ahead of Kerry's arrival, a senior State Department official announced the U.S. is providing Kyiv with an additional $16.4 million in aid to help civilians affected by fighting between Ukraine's military and pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.
The official also said the U.S. continues to evaluate whether to provide "defensive lethal weapons" to Ukraine, but he said there were concerns whether Ukrainian forces had adequate training to handle such equipment.
The official added that Washington is talking to its European partners about imposing additional sanctions against Russia in the near future, if Russian interference in Ukraine continues.
Violence in eastern Ukraine escalated after last week's breakdown of the latest round of peace talks aimed at ending the nine-month rebellion.
French President Francois Hollande said Thursday he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit Ukraine to present a "new solution to the conflict based on the territorial integrity of Ukraine." President Hollande and Chancellor Merkel will discuss the plan with President Poroshenko before heading to Moscow for talks with Russian leaders, said the French leader.
No details of the peace initiative were immediately available.
In Brussels, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance was set Thursday to strengthen its defenses near Russia's borders in response to Moscow's "aggressive actions" in Ukraine.
